The articulator of the present invention was developed as a result from studies in the field of Gnathology and, to be more specific, studies of a syndrome known as Neuromuscular Dysfunction, a syndrome which is medically and dentally related. Abnormal mandibular positioning can be translated into stress related symptoms of various kinds such as headaches, muscle spasms in the head and neck etc. I have found that a substantial amount of stress can be reduced by proper mandibular positioning. The lower jaw or mandible has a relationship to the upper jaw or maxilla. When this relationship is altered, the muscles of mastication may go into spasm. This causes those muscles that have the same nerve innervation to also go into spasm with the result that stresses may radiate throughout the head, neck and may even involve the back.
The lower jaw may be overclosed (too close to the upper jaw) and/or distally displaced, (too far back in the joint or socket). Additionally, the lower jaw may deviate to one side due to interfering tooth cusps or points on the chewing surfaces of teeth that do not meet properly with the opposing teeth. The cause of jaw misclosure is usually multifaceted, i.e., loss of teeth or poor alignment thereof; natural wear of teeth; grinding or clenching of the teeth; poor tongue position, muscle unbalance between the tongue and facial muscles; chronic mouthbreathing, etc.
The diagnosis, treatment and cure of Neuromuscular Dysfunction problems has been rapidly advanced in the last few years with the introduction of certain electronic instrumentation into the dental office. Specifically, this instrumentation was that developed by Dr. Bernard Jankelson and John Radke and consists of the following:
(a) The Bio-Tens.TM., an instrument for accomplishing transcutaneous electrical neural stimulation through the fifth and seventh nerves to relax the mandibular muscles and precisely control their contractions during clinical procedures. This instrument is described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,593,422. PA1 (b) The mandibular kinesiograph (MKG), U.S. Pat. No. 3,822,694, an electronically accurate tracking instrument which easily and quickly provides the kind of factual information needed to determine the most functional individual occlusal position. PA1 (c) An Electromyograph, an instrument used to determine the degree of relaxation of a particular muscle or muscle group at rest. It also provides a precise measurement of the relative levels of contraction of several muscles during a functional act.
The articulator of the present invention provides the mechanical portion of the translation of measurement from patient to the laboratory and back to the patient.